Israeli elections

MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Comeback kid: Will Netanyahu ride Iran war boost to new elections?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is well positioned to leverage the military operation against Iran and its US support to win back many Israeli voters.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Netanyahu

Analysis

Decapitate Iranian regime or boost his image: What's Netanyahu's endgame?

In launching the attack on Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be aiming to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat, but could also be motivated by a desire to preserve his political prospects.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US President Donald Trump (C) and Vice President JD Vance (R) meet with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Israeli military poised for ‘order’ to strike as US awaits Iran's reply

If Tehran decides to reject the Washington proposal for a new nuclear deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to make a decision of his own: whether or not to strike Iran.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israeli far-right Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a gathering by right-wing activists near the border with Gaza, on Oct. 21, 2024, calling to establish a new Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s Ben-Gvir visits US Monday, set to meet Trump officials: What to know

While avoiding official travel to the US during the Biden administration, Israel's far-right minister is set to embark on a weeklong trip there next week, where he is expected to meet with Trump officials.

Latest News

What does Netanyahu's judicial law mean for Israel's separation of powers?

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Interview

Amid Israel's rightward shift, left struggles for relevance

Yair Golan in Tel Aviv on Feb. 2, 2025.

Yair Golan

Yair Golan

Chair of the Democrats Party

Why Israel's far right is embracing Trump’s Gaza displacement plan

Israeli soldier and kids use binoculars during a Sukkoth gathering, calling for resettling Gaza with Jewish communities near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 21, 2024 in Southern Border, Israel.

Analysis

Netanyahu teeters between Trump’s demand to end war, coalition threats

SAEED JARAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in a joint statement in the East Room of the White House on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. The news conference was held to announce the Trump administration's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Analysis

Netanyahu goes all in on Trump: Accepts Gaza deal, shifts to Saudi Arabia and Iran

Netanyahu did everything within his power to delay the deal in the months leading up to the US presidential elections. Diplomatic sources say the Israeli premier was eager to hand Donald Trump credit for the ceasefire.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Sara Netanyahu arrives for her husband Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol on July 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why is Sara Netanyahu still in Miami as Israel PM faces health, other crises?

Despite the testimony of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at court and his hospitalization for surgery, Sara Netanyahu is still in Miami.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu(R) at the White House, Washington, DC, Sept. 15, 2020.

Analysis

Could Trump intervene against ICC arrest warrants to help Netanyahu?

Associates of the Israeli prime minister had hoped that Trump's victory would derail International Criminal Court warrants.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Gaza and Lebanon for Iran: Inside Netanyahu’s gamble on Donald Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly has high hopes for President-elect Donald Trump, but is nervously watching the new administration take shape.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Large billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, hang against buildings in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. An opinion poll conducted in September by Mitvim, the Israel Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, said 68 percent of Israelis see Trump as the candidate who will best serve Israel's interests. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Beyond Jerusalem, what's behind Israeli embrace of Donald Trump?

Despite President Joe Biden’s standing by Israel since Oct. 7, only Israelis identified with the political left support presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Israeli army tanks are deployed in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Sept. 29, 2024.

Analysis

Israel buoyant after killing Nasrallah, mulls risky Lebanon ground invasion

After the killing of the Hezbollah chief, Israeli security chiefs disagree on a potential ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant meets soldiers on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, Sderot, Israel, Oct. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Can Netanyahu both fire Gallant and go to war in Lebanon?

The Biden administration clearly finds it hard to believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go through with firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant while warning that war with Hezbollah could break out soon.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israeli border guards stand alert as anti-government demonstrators rally with national and pride rainbow flags at Ben Gurion Airport, near Lod, during a protest hours after parliament adopted a key clause of the government's judicial overhaul package at the first reading, July 11, 2023.

Analysis

How far will Israel's justice minister go in reviving polarizing judicial overhaul?

Justice Minister Yariv Levin is gearing up for another attempt to legislate the government's controversial judicial overhaul plan suspended after the Oct. 7 attack.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Yahya al-Sinwar (C), Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, waves to supporters during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation, in Gaza City on December 14, 2022. Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the militant group's leader in the Gaza Strip said on December 14. Since Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group has held the bodies of Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, altho

Analysis

As Netanyahu hedges, Hamas' Sinwar undecided between deal or regional war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived closer to the moment of truth where he must decide for or against a deal for the release of the hostages held by Hamas and a cease-fire in Gaza.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron (L) after a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

Israeli minister's support for Le Pen causing tensions in France-Israel ties

Reports that French President Emmanuel Macron confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about statements championing the far-right's Marine Le Pen signal the dangers of the Israeli government siding with European populists.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli anti-government protesters prepare to release yellow balloons during a demonstration demanding action to release the hostages taken captive by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip in the Oct. 7 attacks, central Tel Aviv, July 6, 2024.

Analysis

Why is Israel's anti-government protest movement struggling to gain steam?

Hundreds of thousands of people come out to support the families of the hostages in their call for a deal to release them, but fewer join rallies calling for the Netanyahu government to resign over the failures of Oct. 7.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Egypt enraged by Netanyahu's demands as talks stall, Israel-Cairo ties tumble

The list of non-negotiable demands Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued ahead of talks for a hostage release deal are likely to not only sabotage negotiations, but also harm Israel’s relations with Egypt.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense